千 qiān — thousand

Meanings

1. 1

   thousand

   The number 1000. Chinese groups large numbers by 万 (ten thousand) rather than by thousands, so 一万 is where the next unit begins.

   numeral

Character breakdown

• 千

  qiān (first tone, high and level)

  thousand; a great many

  3 strokesRadical 十

Example sentences

• 这个手机三千块钱。/這個手機三千塊錢。Zhège (fourth tone, falling) shǒujī (third tone, dipping) sān (first tone, high and level) qiān (first tone, high and level) kuài (fourth tone, falling) qián. (second tone, rising)···

  This phone costs three thousand yuan.

• 我们学校有两千个学生。/我們學校有兩千個學生。Wǒmen (third tone, dipping) xuéxiào (second tone, rising) yǒu (third tone, dipping) liǎng (third tone, dipping) qiān (first tone, high and level) ge (neutral tone) xuésheng. (second tone, rising)···

  Our school has two thousand students.

Common mistakes

• Not quite二千块钱

  Correct两千块钱

  Before 千 and 百, everyday speech uses 两 rather than 二. 二千 is heard in some regions but 两千 is what learners should say.

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